Description
This spectacular and eminently growable Chinese species has a large, deep reddish-brown tube striped in white, which flares open, like a cobra’s hood, to become a broad spathe ‘lid’ which is beautifully netted and reticulated inside, in white, over a brighter red-brown base colour. This looks especially good when seen against the light, enabling the white netting and garnet colouring to be properly appreciated. As well as being folded over and expanded, this abruptly narrows to a prolonged bootlace-thread which hangs down from the spathe.
The spathe tube is sympathetically banded with reddish-brown and white, in varying proportions.
A stunner, every bit as exciting and sinister as the Indian A. griffithii but in a different colour and with a more hooded, folded tube and unlike that species, it has a more cylindrical tuber and is much less prone to rotting.
Likes a well-drained, but moisture-retentive, this should be humus-rich and the plant seems best here out in the garden with a light ground cover and associated flora such as small ferns. Iyt has been fully winter hardy.